“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and communities that were affected by this devastating event,” said Capt. James R. Midkiff, Iwo Jima’s commanding officer. “During times like these, it is important to have the right people with the right capabilities in the right place at the right time and we hit every single one of those marks. We have successfully and safely completed this mission before and we will do it this time as well.”

The Navy’s involvement in the humanitarian assistance operations is led by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in conjunction with the Department of Defense.